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Kerlin Gallery, Dublin, is pleased to announce ‘The skies will be friendlier then’, an exhibition of new work by Eoin Mc Hugh. This will be the artist’s first exhibition in Ireland since the acclaimed ‘Augury’ at Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin, 2013.

Mc Hugh’s hyper-real/hyper-surreal language is driven by his interest in the psychology of imagery; a two and three dimensional investigation of the space between the image, the object and the idea. 'the skies will be friendlier then' marks a major development within Mc Hugh’s practice, introducing ambitiously complex sculptural and textile works. Several Persian and Turkish carpets are reconstructed as large-scale collages where forms are suggested from neutral abstract patterns in conflict. An enormous, flayed and headless beast, like something never witnessed before, is in turn confronted by an equally otherworldly, crouching infant. These works, accompanied by an intimate oil painting of a woman lying in foetal position, apparently cite the early history and aesthetics of psychoanalysis and the poems of Wallace Stevens and Seamus Heaney. These references, however, are by no means immediately obvious, and through suspension of disbelief, Mc Hugh strives to constantly keep the viewer questioning how they process images, preventing one definitive interpretation being extracted from the work.

Eoin Mc Hugh currently lives and works in Berlin. His solo shows include Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin, Ireland (2013); TR1 Kunsthalle, Tampere, Finland (2012); Kerlin Gallery, Dublin (2009); Centre d’art Contemporain, Château des Adhémar, Montélimar, France (2008); TBG+S, Dublin (2006). Group shows include 'Interlude', Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (2011); 'Perfect Solitude', Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam; 'Thingamajig', Glucksman Gallery, Cork, Ireland; 'Terror and the Sublime', Crawford Art Gallery, Cork (2010); 'Flight of the Dodo', Project Arts Centre, Dublin; 'Warming to Rabelais, Like Things Frozen', FRAC Languedoc-Rousillon, Abbaye de Lagrasse, Lagrasse (2008); 'Don’t Box me in', Galeria Leme, San Paolo; 'Rendez Vous', in conjunction with the Lyon Biennale, France (2007) travelling to Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai (2008); 'The Square Root of Drawing', TBG+S, Dublin; EV+A, Limerick (2006); ‘Precaution’, Irish Museum of Modern Art (2005).
 

Selected Works

Selected Works Thumbnails
Little Hans Nightlight 2014
Eoin Mc Hugh, Little Hans nightlight, 2014, nickel silver and lighting unit, edition of 2 + 1 AP, 49 x 44 x 41 cm / 19.3 x 17.3 x 16.1 in
 
Eoin Mc Hugh, Little Hans nightlight, 2014, nickel silver and lighting unit, edition of 2 + 1 AP, 49 x 44 x 41 cm / 19.3 x 17.3 x 16.1 in
 
Little Hans Nightlight 2014

Eoin Mc Hugh
Little Hans nightlight, 2014
nickel silver and lighting unit, edition of 2 + 1 AP
49 x 44 x 41 cm / 19.3 x 17.3 x 16.1 in

 

Inquire
wire mother

Eoin Mc Hugh
Wire mother, 2014
oil on canvas mounted on aluminium
47 x 37 cm / 18.5 x 14.6 in 

Inquire
the skies will be friendlier then 2014
Eoin Mc Hugh, The skies will be friendlier then, 2014, wool and mixed media, 306 x 492 cm / 120.5 x 193.7 in  
the skies will be friendlier then 2014

Eoin Mc Hugh
The skies will be friendlier then, 2014
wool and mixed media
306 x 492 cm / 120.5 x 193.7 in  

Inquire
the ground itself is kind, black butter 2014
Eoin Mc Hugh, The ground itself is kind, black butter, 2014, black sheepskin, wax, steel and mixed media, 224 x 122 x 190 cm / 88.2 x 48 x 74.8 in
Eoin Mc Hugh, The ground itself is kind, black butter, 2014, black sheepskin, wax, steel and mixed media, 224 x 122 x 190 cm / 88.2 x 48 x 74.8 in
the ground itself is kind, black butter 2014

Eoin Mc Hugh
The ground itself is kind, black butter, 2014
black sheepskin, wax, steel and mixed media
224 x 122 x 190 cm / 88.2 x 48 x 74.8 in

Inquire
what we know in what we see 2014
Eoin Mc Hugh, What we know in what we see, 2014, wool, silk and mixed media, 248 x 355 cm / 97.6 x 139.8 in  
what we know in what we see 2014

Eoin Mc Hugh
What we know in what we see, 2014
wool, silk and mixed media
248 x 355 cm / 97.6 x 139.8 in  

Inquire
song

Eoin Mc Hugh
Song, Wandering Womb, 2014
oil on canvas mounted on aluminum
47 x 61.5 cm / 18.5 x 24.2 in

Inquire
Little Hans Nightlight 2014

Eoin Mc Hugh
Little Hans nightlight, 2014
nickel silver and lighting unit, edition of 2 + 1 AP
49 x 44 x 41 cm / 19.3 x 17.3 x 16.1 in

 

wire mother

Eoin Mc Hugh
Wire mother, 2014
oil on canvas mounted on aluminium
47 x 37 cm / 18.5 x 14.6 in 

the skies will be friendlier then 2014

Eoin Mc Hugh
The skies will be friendlier then, 2014
wool and mixed media
306 x 492 cm / 120.5 x 193.7 in  

the ground itself is kind, black butter 2014

Eoin Mc Hugh
The ground itself is kind, black butter, 2014
black sheepskin, wax, steel and mixed media
224 x 122 x 190 cm / 88.2 x 48 x 74.8 in

what we know in what we see 2014

Eoin Mc Hugh
What we know in what we see, 2014
wool, silk and mixed media
248 x 355 cm / 97.6 x 139.8 in  

song

Eoin Mc Hugh
Song, Wandering Womb, 2014
oil on canvas mounted on aluminum
47 x 61.5 cm / 18.5 x 24.2 in

Installation Views

Installation Views Thumbnails
1

Eoin Mc Hugh, The skies will be friendlier then, 14th November 2014 - 10th January 2015

Eoin Mc Hugh, What we know, 2014, wool, silk and mixed media, 248 x 355 cm / 97.6 x 139.8 in

Eoin Mc Hugh, What we know, 2014, wool, silk and mixed media, 248 x 355 cm / 97.6 x 139.8 in

2

Eoin Mc Hugh, The skies will be friendlier then, 14th November 2014 - 10th January 2015

the ground

Eoin Mc Hugh, The ground itself is kind, black butter, 2014, black sheepskin, wax, steel and mixed media, 224 x 122 x 190 cm / 88.2 x 48 x 74.8 in

Eoin Mc Hugh, Wire mother, 2014, oil on canvas mounted on aluminium, 47 x 37 cm / 18.5 x 14.6 in

Eoin Mc Hugh, Wire mother, 2014, oil on canvas mounted on aluminium, 47 x 37 cm / 18.5 x 14.6 in

4

Eoin Mc Hugh, The skies will be friendlier then, 14th November 2014 - 10th January 2015

hans

Eoin Mc Hugh, Little Hans nightlight, 2014, nickel silver and lighting unit, edition of 2 + 1 AP, 49 x 44 x 41 cm / 19.3 x 17.3 x 16.1 in
 

3

Eoin Mc Hugh, The skies will be friendlier then, 14th November 2014 - 10th January 2015

the skies will be friendlier then

Eoin Mc Hugh, The skies will be friendlier then, 2014, wool and mixed media, 306 x 492 cm / 120.5 x 193.7 in

Song, Wandering Womb

Eoin Mc Hugh, Song, Wandering Womb, 2014, oil on canvas mounted on aluminum, 47 x 61.5 cm / 18.5 x 24.2 in 

1

Eoin Mc Hugh, The skies will be friendlier then, 14th November 2014 - 10th January 2015

Eoin Mc Hugh, What we know, 2014, wool, silk and mixed media, 248 x 355 cm / 97.6 x 139.8 in

Eoin Mc Hugh, What we know, 2014, wool, silk and mixed media, 248 x 355 cm / 97.6 x 139.8 in

2

Eoin Mc Hugh, The skies will be friendlier then, 14th November 2014 - 10th January 2015

the ground

Eoin Mc Hugh, The ground itself is kind, black butter, 2014, black sheepskin, wax, steel and mixed media, 224 x 122 x 190 cm / 88.2 x 48 x 74.8 in

Eoin Mc Hugh, Wire mother, 2014, oil on canvas mounted on aluminium, 47 x 37 cm / 18.5 x 14.6 in

Eoin Mc Hugh, Wire mother, 2014, oil on canvas mounted on aluminium, 47 x 37 cm / 18.5 x 14.6 in

4

Eoin Mc Hugh, The skies will be friendlier then, 14th November 2014 - 10th January 2015

hans

Eoin Mc Hugh, Little Hans nightlight, 2014, nickel silver and lighting unit, edition of 2 + 1 AP, 49 x 44 x 41 cm / 19.3 x 17.3 x 16.1 in
 

3

Eoin Mc Hugh, The skies will be friendlier then, 14th November 2014 - 10th January 2015

the skies will be friendlier then

Eoin Mc Hugh, The skies will be friendlier then, 2014, wool and mixed media, 306 x 492 cm / 120.5 x 193.7 in

Song, Wandering Womb

Eoin Mc Hugh, Song, Wandering Womb, 2014, oil on canvas mounted on aluminum, 47 x 61.5 cm / 18.5 x 24.2 in